Citywide Planning maintains the city's General Plan which provides guidance to all city agencies and departments regarding urban design, land use, transportation, housing, open space and a variety of other issues. Citywide Planning also develops permanent controls — zoning, planning code controls and other regulations that implement the General Plan, both through community-based planning efforts and citywide initiatives.
The Citywide Division acts as the urban design resource for the City, and gathers and analyzes data in support of land‐use policy. The Citywide Division proposes policy on a wide range of topics, including: housing, transportation, urban design, land use, community stabilization, and sustainability policy.
Land Use & Transportation
From broad-ranging topics such as housing and affordability to effective transportation and public space, Citywide Planning seeks to forge shared visions for the City’s existing and evolving neighborhoods and meet the needs of existing and future residents, workers, and visitors while achieving citywide goals for inclusivity, sustainability, and economic vitality.
Plans & Policies
Citywide Planning maintains the city's General Plan, which provides guidance to all City agencies and departments regarding urban design, land use, transportation, housing, open space and a variety of other issues. The General Plan is the legal underpinning for land use and policy decisions and a vision for how the City will grow and evolve.
Information and Analysis Group
The Information and Analysis Group carries out the Division’s and much of the Department’s data analysis and reporting, graphic design, and mapping/GIS needs.
City Design
City Design works to improve San Francisco's livability through concern for the physical qualities of the city and consists of urban designers, architects, landscape architects, and streetscape designers.
Implementing Our Community Plans
The Implementation Group helps to turn the visions from recently adopted Area Plans into on-the-ground improvements, working with community members, development project sponsors, and City agencies.
Current Efforts
Housing
Perhaps no issue is more pressing than the City’s housing crisis. The Citywide Division works to improve housing affordability through a three-pronged approach of housing production, tenant protections, and housing stock preservation.
- Accessory Dwelling Units
- Housing Needs and Trends Report
- Housing Affordability Strategies
- Public Land for Housing
Transportation
Planning for an effective, equitable, and sustainable transportation system.
Land Use and Community Plans
These efforts seek to forge shared visions for the city’s existing and evolving neighborhoods, including large-scale development sites, to meet the needs of existing and future residents, workers, and visitors while achieving citywide goals for inclusivity, sustainability, and economic vitality.
- The Central SoMa Plan
- Excelsior Outer Mission Neighborhood Strategy
- The Market Street Hub Project (The Hub)
- Southeast Framework
Master Plans and Development Agreements
The Planning Department, in coordination with the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, develops, reviews, and brings forward for approval master plans for major new development areas, including building form and design, land use, streets, open spaces and other public amenities.
- Balboa Reservoir
- India Basin
- Potrero Power Plant
Community Equity
General Plan
The General Plan is the embodiment of San Francisco’s vision for the future, serving to guide the City’s evolution and growth over time. It provides a comprehensive set of objectives and policies that influence how we live, work, and move about, as well as the quality and character of the City. The General Plan reflects community values and priorities through its public adoption process, ensuring both private development and public action conform to this vision.
The General Plan Addresses the following:
Land Use, Circulation, Housing, Conservation, Open Space, Noise and Safety.
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